They all grew silent when Aiden stepped out onto the patio.
Madison started across the room after him, but Justin stopped her.
“Don’t go out there, Miss. Give him a minute.”
Madison gulped. Nodded. Sat down on the bed before her legs gave out.
Aiden was back in the room in less than a minute.
“Nothing,” he mouthed silently.
He heard Justin and Kevin let out the breath they’d been holding.
“Who saw Chase, Santiago, Gabe, or Isaac last?” Aiden asked.
“They were with us until around midnight.” Justin brushed his fingers through his hair, which was already standing on end. “I swear, Coach. They said they were going straight to their room. We’d been playing video games, and then we heard you and Miss Hart coming down the hall. So we waited until the coast was clear, and all four of them took off from our room. I watched them come in here.”
“Maybe they’re with Marcos. They could have decided they were bored. Or homesick.” Madison stood up, began pacing. “Maybe after you saw them walk in here, they went down to Marcos’s room.”
“The patio door was open though, so they must have been in here at some point. They wouldn’t have—-” Aiden turned back toward the patio, and this time they all followed.
“Yeah, they would have.” Justin walked out onto the patio. “Hang on. Chase always carries a flashlight in his bag. He reads after lights out.”
He was back with the light, shining it across the balcony, revealing a two by eight board propped against the adjacent balcony.
“Tell me they did not walk across that,” Madison said.
“Apparently they did.” Aiden’s voice was grim. “Let’s go.”
“We’re five floors up. They could have been killed. Where did they even find a board that long?”
“Top of the closets,” Aiden said. “We’ll ground them later. Let’s find them first.”
Even Melvin and Matt were wide-awake now, either by the thought of their teammates being eternally grounded or by the sheer act of shuffling from room to room and their coach carrying a gun.
Aiden knew Justin and Kevin had figured out this wasn’t a standard evacuation. They weren’t asking questions yet, but they had definitely clued into the fact something big was going down. The mood had moved away from confused chaos and closer to raw fear.
“Remember. We all stay together, and don’t speak to anyone.”
Everyone nodded their understanding. It sounded so simple, and it would have been, only this time when they stepped out in the hall, it wasn’t empty.
Aiden recognized the three men immediately–Servensky, Jackson, and Jones. Aiden’s finger itched on the trigger of his weapon. He couldn’t afford an open confrontation at this moment, and he couldn’t stand the thought of letting this mole in their organization go.
He had served with all three men before. Each of them on previous missions, some as far back as five years ago.
“Sir, we’re here to escort you to your room.” Jackson stepped forward. “Our orders are to remain with you until transportation arrives.”
Aiden shifted his weapon to his other hand, grateful he could shoot as well with his left, aware Servensky knew it too. He shook hands with each of them, the ice now firmly in place.
Servensky might not be the only traitor. He searched each man’s eyes. If the others were moles, they were good ones. Not that Aiden believed you could see into a man’s soul through his eyes. He knew too well how you could limit what you showed a person.
“I was gathering the last of the boys together. Let’s convene in my suite in fifteen minutes. Two of you proceed to my room. One monitor from the balcony, the other remain on the inside. We’ll need someone else at the end of the hall in the stairwell.”
Aiden turned to go, expecting his orders would be followed.
“Negative, sir.” Jackson’s voice was firm but quiet.
“Excuse me?” Aiden allowed a bit of the ice back into his voice.
Servensky stepped up to rescue Jackson. Servensky had served with Aiden the longest, knew his reputation and his temper. Or perhaps he was simply forcing the altercation.
“Easy, Aiden. We’ve been given orders to stay in visual contact with you. It’s not Jackson’s fault.”
“Who gave you those orders?”
“Straight from Martin.”
“Did Martin happen to mention who was the agent in charge?”
“Yeah, he said you were. But he also said we were to remain in visual contact.”
“And I’m changing those orders as your agent in charge. You have a problem with that Servensky?”
Neither man blinked for a full ten seconds.
“You have fifteen minutes, then we come after you. Something happens, I won’t be the one slung out to dry over a bunch of kids.”
“Secure the suite while I gather the boys.”
“Jones, take the back stairs,” Servensky ordered. “Jackson, I want you on the patio.”
Aiden allowed Servensky to take charge of the other agents, hoping the illusion of control would satisfy him for the moment, but knowing that moment wouldn’t last long. At the most he had half the time he’d demanded, but he only needed enough to reach the last room.
Servensky couldn’t leave it alone though.
“Fifteen minutes, Lewis.”
“Servensky, do you have a problem with this mission?”
“Let’s say I’d rather be catching the whoever is responsible for the disaster in Virginia than babysitting a golf team here in Canada.”
“Focus on your mission, agent.” Aiden stepped in closer and lowered his voice enough to add a degree of danger. “If anything happens to these boys or to Miss Hart, I’ll personally see you transferred to Louisiana where your missions are spent belly down in a bayou and the alligators are a much bigger threat than the terrorists. Is that clear, agent?”
“Yes, Sir.” Servensky practically spit the words.
Aiden took a step back, and the man turned and stormed down the hall. No doubt he would call reinforcements.
The boys stood staring at Aiden, mouths slightly open, eyes wide.
“Let’s get the rest of our team,” he said, but he waited until the corridor was clear before he tapped on Marcos’s door.
WHEN THEY STEPPED INSIDE, Madison nearly collapsed in relief to see eight boys passed out around the room. She counted heads twice before she drew a deep breath.
The air was returning to her oxygen-deprived brain when Aiden pulled her into the suite’s walk-in closet.
“We need to leave here fast. When we don’t show up, those agents will come looking for us.”
“We’re not going back there?”
“No, we’re not.”
“But they were on our side. Weren’t they?”
“Maddie. You trust me, right? We need to go, and we need to do it now.”
“Where?”
“Home, baby. We’re going home.”
Then his hands were holding her face, his thumbs running the length of her jaw. Before she could say another word, he’d pulled her into his arms.
“Yuck. That’s disgusting.” Jack declared.
“Exactly the reason you should knock first,” Aiden said.
“Knock on a closet door?”
“Knock on any door. Now get dressed.”
Aiden turned him around and marched him into the main room. As the three entered, the room grew silent.
“I know you boys have a lot of questions, and to be honest I don’t have many answers. Most of the ones I do have I can’t tell you right now. I can tell you we need to leave, and you need to trust me.”
Twelve pairs of eyes locked with his.
As Madison watched she was reminded of something she had heard in her education classes in college–-that it only took one good relationship with an adult to turn a teenager around.
She didn’t know what they were involved in, what this day would ent
ail, but she did know that in Aiden Lewis these boys had a good relationship. The way they looked at him and the obvious respect they had for their coach showed in their eyes. They immediately threw on their clothes.
Not a single one asked questions. They simply put their lives in his hands. They trusted him. If a group of teenage boys could do that, Madison figured she could as well.
“Everyone have their passports?”
Thirteen people patted their back pockets, nodded.
“Phones?”
Again, a search of pockets. Again affirmative nods.
“Let’s go then. We’ll use the stairs instead of the elevators.”
Twelve minutes later, they were making their way across the parking lot. As they climbed into the school van and pulled out of the Banff Springs Resort, the sun broke over the horizon promising a gorgeous day.
“Check your phone. See if Dean has sent any other messages.”
Madison pulled out the phone, fumbling through the menu. “No. Nothing.”
Chase watched them closely, his head stuck forward between the front seats. “Has anyone told you two you’re very strange?”
“No one’s told me that,” Aiden said.
“Me either,” said Madison. “I thought we were normal.”
“Funny. Very funny. Wake me if we stop at a McDonalds.” Chase flopped back into the second seat.
“Chase?”
“Yeah, Coach.”
“One more thing.”
“Sure, Coach.”
“I need you to gather up all the cell phones. Give them to Miss Hart.”
Chase was suddenly back up front, head stuck between the two front seats.
“You want to say that one more time?”
“I need you to pick up all the cell phones. And make sure no one has two.”
“Who would have two?”
“Just make sure.”
Chase tugged his ball cap lower. “Right.”
Madison waited until Chase had moved away from the front of the van.
“Why do we need their cell phones?”
“9-11 legislation. All cell phones are now listening devices. As long as they’re turned on, they can be monitored by government satellites.”
“Huh?”
Aiden checked his rearview mirror, then shifted his gaze to the side mirror. He moved his right hand to his gun, but the car that had been following them passed and turned left at the light.
Aiden put both hands back on the wheel. “What were we talking about?”
“Cell phones.”
“After 9-11 the government claimed they needed the ability to listen in on conversations, which they did in certain situations. Most people leave their cell phones on all the time.”
“But it’s not really on,” Madison objected.
“Right. Before you can talk you have to hit the talk button, which is how you request permission to connect to a cell tower. That can be done remotely. The phone company can turn on the microphone without your knowing it.”
“Tell me you’re kidding.”
“Not at all. Could be useful in a bank robbery turned hostage situation. The Hostage Rescue Team blocks all incoming traffic to the cell tower and turns on all the landline phones and cell phones responding to that specific tower. Then they’re able to listen in and cut out phones, plotting them as they go on a map of the building, until they know where the criminals are and who is saying what to whom.”
“So who would want to listen in on our phones?”
“Whoever has the ability to infiltrate USCIS would be able to obtain that sort of permission. If they could listen in, they’d find out where we are, where we’re going.”
“Why us?” she asked softly.
“It’s a long story. One I will tell you.” Aiden glanced in the rear view mirror at the boys. “Soon.”
Chase returned with a ball cap full of cell phones.
“Here you go, Coach.”
“That’s all of them?” Aiden asked.
“That’s it. Scout’s honor.”
“You’re not a scout, Chase.”
“Right. Golfer’s honor, Coach.”
“Good enough.”
Madison took the cap, held it in her lap and stared down at the conglomeration of cell phones. Tried to make sense of what Aiden had said. Attempted to wrap her mind around it.
“Miss Hart? Could I have the cap back?”
“Sure. Yeah.”
She looked over at Aiden.
“Try the glove compartment.”
Opening it, she saw it was empty except for a road map and flashlight. Plenty of room for twelve cell phones. Perhaps if she put them in there, shut them away, they would once again be safe.
“Double check they’re all turned off and remove the batteries if you can. Put yours and mine in as well.”
Madison dumped the phones in, checking them as she did so, then handed the cap back to Chase. When she was finished, she looked over at Aiden.
“It’s a long trip, and the boys are going to be hungry,” she said. “We need to stop for food if we can.”
“And gas,” Aiden agreed.
They had driven through most of Banff, leaving the tourist shops behind them.
“There’s a twenty-four-hour gas station on the edge of town,” Aiden said. “We’ll stop there.”
“Will they be watching?”
Aiden stared out the front window as he drove.
“Aiden?” Madison reached over and rubbed his arm.
“I don’t know.” He looked over at her, ran his hand over his face. “But we need gas. This will be our only stop. From here we’ll push straight through. We’ll have to hope whoever is tracking us doesn’t expect us to stop this soon.”
AIDEN KNEW THEY NEEDED to stop, and he knew it was dangerous. Once they were on the road, they had a good chance of making it to the border. Stopping was taking a big risk, but they had to have gas.
“Justin and Chase, can you come up here?”
The boys unbuckled and moved to the front of the van.
“We’re going to stop once to buy gas and food. We can’t all go in. It would look too obvious. I want the two of you to go in. Ms. Hart will stay in the van with the rest of the team. You’ll only have a few minutes. Purchase as much food and drinks as you can. Stay away from the junk. If something happens we might need enough to last us a couple days.”
The boys exchanged looks.
“Sure thing, Coach.”
“You want us to use your credit card or cash?”
Aiden reached for his wallet.
“Behind my license are some twenties. Take five of them. Check out separately. Try to act like you’re not together, though it’s going to be pretty obvious you are.”
“What kind of drinks?” Justin asked.
“Only water and sports drinks.”
“Got it, Coach.”
“One more thing.”
“Yeah, Coach?” Chase tugged on his cap.
“Explain to the team I want them to lie down before we pull in. I need them to stay down until we’re back on the road.”
Justin and Chase exchanged looks of disbelief.
“Did you say lie down, Coach?” Justin asked.
“It’s better if the people who might be looking for us aren’t sure we’re all together. The more we can do to confuse them the better. Let’s assume someone is watching. When whoever is following us interrogates the clerk, it would be help if that person didn’t look out the window and see a van full of kids.”
“OK, Coach,” Chase said. “You want them to lie down, they’ll lie down.” Then he turned around and addressed his team.
Chase had been team captain for two years, and the boys admired him almost as much as they admired Aiden. He was the perfect older brother. He was also graduating this year, with plans to attend college in Missoula. No one wanted to talk about what the team would be like without him. Yesterday it had seemed like their biggest problem. Strange how a fe
w hours could change things so drastically.
“Listen up, guys.” Chase tugged the cap lower as he squatted between the front seats, facing toward the back of the van. “As you all have guessed we have something of a situation here. Now Coach can’t exactly explain it to us right now, but you know we left all our things back in our hotel rooms. Don’t worry about your stuff. They’ll ship it back home, so you’ll still have a chance to wash your dirty socks.”
Aiden was splitting his attention between the road and the boys. Chase was doing a good job. He’d earned a few snickers from Gabriel and Isaac, who were known to wear the same pair of socks for most of a trip.
“Here’s the thing. We’re about to stop for gas. Me and Justin are going in to grab some grub.”
Jack bounced up at once. “I want to go in too.”
“Nah, Jack. You go in and next thing we know you’d be chatting up the clerk. She’d remember your face for sure, and what we don’t want is to be remembered. Ugly guys like me and Justin, folks tend to forget us as soon as we walk out the door.”
Justin seemed to realize Chase was trying to put the team at ease. Determined to do his part, Justin reached over and punched Chase in the arm.
“What we really need you all to do is play a little game of hide and seek. Problem is you have to hide here in the van, and we don’t know who’s doing the seeking.”
“Almost there, Chase,” Aiden said.
“So I’m counting to ten, and I don’t want to see a single Husky from the time I reach ten until this van is back on the blacktop.”
Aiden had to hand it to his team captain. What sounded pretty goofy actually worked. When he stepped out to fill the tank up with gas, he didn’t see a single Husky cap or Husky face. All he saw was two scruffy teens walking toward the convenience store and one beautiful lady staring out her window as if this were any other day and they were about to embark on another normal trip through Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
MADISON THOUGHT THEY were actually going to make it. No sounds were coming from the back of the van. She wouldn’t have bet the change in the bottom of her purse ten boys could be so quiet.
Coyote's Revenge Page 24
